Super Flu Surge & Minnesota Child Care Payments Halt: Morning Rundown

Today’s News: flu Surge,Child Care freeze,and Venezuela Concerns

In today’s newsletter: A new strain of the flu is spiking. The trump administration freezes child care payments to the state of Minnesota. And, eyewitnesses recount an explosion in Venezuela that has raised concern over U.S. military action against the South American country.

Here’s what to know today.

A new variant of Influenza A, nicknamed “super flu,” is taking off faster than usual this season.

“Just looking at the trajectory of the curve, it’s really a pretty sharp increase that we’re seeing, and it’s not anywhere close to peaking or leveling off,” said Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes,a senior infectious disease physician at Mass General Brigham in Boston.

The dominant, mutated H3N2 strain emerged over the summer and includes changes to a key surface protein that make it harder for the immune system to recognize the virus.

Older adults and people with chronic conditions are more likely to need hospitalizations if they contract the flu, adding more stress to facilities that already have limited beds because of Covid and RSV cases, according to Dr. Lauren Siewny, the medical director of Duke University Hospital Emergency Department. But doctors warn that young children, particularly infants and young children through age 4, have been hit the hardest.

Symptoms mirror previous flu seasons but can start acutely, such as people experiencing higher fever, shaking, chills, cough and shortness of breath, said Dr. Molly Fleece, associate professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Trump claims Venezuela explosion, eyewitnesses describe separate blast; Trump administration halts federal child care payments to Minnesota

Former President Donald Trump claimed on social media that there was a “big explosion” in Venezuela, but details remain unclear and unconfirmed. Trump wrote on truth Social on Friday that a “very big explosion” occurred in Venezuela,”possibly a bomb,” and that “people are saying it was a big one.”

Though, NBC News has not been able to independently verify Trump’s claim. An eyewitness in the northwest Venezuelan region of Alta Guajira described a different explosion on Dec.18,telling NBC News that a facility used for storing materials for illegal mining operations had been blown up,she added.

The arid coastal strip in the northwest of Venezuela, known as Alta Guajira, is heavily controlled by the National Liberation Army, an armed guerrilla group known for its history of drug trafficking that is also active in neighboring Colombia.

NBC News reporting has not established a link between the explosion described by Trump and the one described by the eyewitnesses in northwest Venezuela, and it is indeed not clear who was responsible for the Dec.18 explosion.

Read more about the eyewitness accounts here.

Trump administration halts federal child care payments to Minnesota

all federal child care payments to the state of Minnesota have been frozen after a viral video alleged widespread fraud at child care facilities across the state. The freeze comes days after FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau had “surged” resources to the state as part of an ongoing fraud investigation that has largely targeted Somali immigrants.

Patel said the FBI’s work was in place before a right-wing influencer’s video purporting to show certain child facilities weren’t operational but were receiving state and federal funds gained traction online.

Nick Shirley, who describes himself as an independent journalist, brought the subject into the spotlight of conservative med

The Morning Rundown: December 31, 2024 – Newsletter Recap & New Year’s Pause

This newsletter, dated December 31, 2024, provides a recap of the Morning Rundown‘s content, highlighting its focus on reviews, shopping tips, and deals. It also announces a temporary pause in publication for New Year’s day, with the newsletter resuming on January 2, 2025. This summary provides key data for readers and encourages sharing the newsletter with others.

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* Product Reviews: Assessments of various products to help inform purchasing decisions.
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Publication Schedule Update

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Looking Ahead

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